About Us
Thank you for your interest in Fountain of Life!
WE ARE CHRISTIANS. There are many Christian churches in Tucson – and we thank God for all of them who are proclaiming the truth about Jesus! If you are currently a member in good standing of a good church in our area, stay put! However, if you are attending a church that teaches falsehood (truth matters!), or does not disciple you in the fullness of what God provides for your spiritual life, you would do well to consider a church like Fountain of LIfe.
“LUTHERANS”. We are, of course, not the only Christians in town. But we are unique in that we are a “Lutheran” church. The Lutheran tradition goes back to the 16th century, when Martin Luther vigorously sought to bring correctives to the church of his day, which had become very corrupt. Luther performed an amazing work for the church, helping to clarify its theology, all the while keeping us connected to the church of the ages, all the way back to Jesus. To be a Lutheran is to remain tethered to the classical Christian church: Always seeking to be relevant to the culture of today, but always anchored in the unshakable testimony of the historic church.
LUTHERAN CHURCH – MISSOURI SYNOD. There are different “brands” of Lutheranism. What you need to know about ours: We still believe the Bible, and how it has been classically understood. (Some Lutheran churches have changed their theology to match contemporary progressivism … that’s not us!). We still believe that “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and that we need to be forgiven by God for our sins. That forgiveness comes through belief in what Jesus has done. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It sounds “old school”, but it’s still true: our sins have separated us from God, but God has come to save us from ourselves, and make us His children. This is what we call “the gospel” (literally, the “good news”).
FOUNTAIN OF LIFE. Some Lutheran churches are very committed to old-style practices. We love some of those as well. While always being committed to the foundational truths of the scripture and our classical heritage, we are also committed to experiencing the fresh winds of the Holy Spirit, leading us to fresh expressions of faith, of worship, of outreach. We don’t want to be just “contemporary”, or just “traditional”. We believe we’re most blessed by having it all!
(Like every church…) A WORK IN PROGRESS. We are so thankful for our church’s past … but even more excited about our future. We aren’t perfect, and never will be. But we believe strongly that we’re heading in a great direction – one that will be an unusually wonderful blessing for all those involved.
We would be thrilled if the Lord led you to join us at Fountain of Life.
Our History
History of Fountain of Life Lutheran Church
In 1956, Faith Lutheran Church in Tucson was led by the Lord to begin a new church on the far east side of Tucson. That daughter church is us – Fountain of Life Lutheran! The new congregation adopted this name from Psalm 36:9 – “For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light do we see light.” The church was officially organized on January 1, 1958. Worship services and Bible classes were held for three years until the sanctuary on Kolb Road was ready. From humble beginnings the Lord has blessed Fountain of Life, expanding our ministry to reach hundreds of people in both our church and school ministries.
The Lord put in on our hearts to help plant a new church in Vail, Arizona. Since 2005 Christ Lutheran Church in Vail has grown to be a thriving sister church in our area.
Most recently…
In December of 2024 Bill Hartley was called to serve as the Pastor of Fountain of Life. We believe this marks a new day for us as a church, as we seek to reconnect the people of Tucson to the richness of classical Christianity.
For those who don’t know about Jesus, we are eager to explain the good news of what He has done for us, and what being His disciple is all about.
For those who may have never heard about the richness and depth of truly Biblical, classically-understood Christianity, we look forward to sharing the uniqueness of our tradition, and what it can mean to you and your family to become a part of it.
Thank you for your interest in Fountain of Life. The journey ahead is going to be exciting — and we would be blessed to have you join us!
New Members
From attendance to membership – becoming a part of the Fountain of Life family
It says in the scriptures that, “As in one body we have many members … so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.“ The “membership” is true of all Christians, in all churches – we are all “members” of the universal body of Christ.
But the local expression of that “membership” is just as important as the universal ideal. It’s in the local church that we pray, love, learn, proclaim, worship and serve. There is no fulfillment of Biblical membership apart from membership in the local church. Hence, your spiritual life will never be what God intends for it to be apart from the brothers and sisters God has knit you together with at the local level. So, whether it is with us at Fountain of Life, or with the believers at another of the wonderful churches in Tucson, be encouraged to become active members in a local church.
We are currently retooling our membership process at Fountain of Life. Soon, we will offer instruction opportunities for those who are new to Christianity, new to the classical brand of Christianity we practice in the Lutheran tradition, and new to the uniqueness of this local expression at Fountain of Life. We will post information about these offerings as soon as they’re ready.
In the meantime, we hope you will enjoy worshiping with us, attending additional gatherings, and getting to know us better. Be encouraged, too, to contact the church office and set up a time to talk with our Pastor, Bill Hartley. He would love to share with you the unique vision of Fountain of Life, and how being a member can and should be a wonderful next step in your walk with Christ.
You can contact the church office Monday through Friday at (520) 747-1213 or email your interest to receptionist@follutheran.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fountain of Life Lutheran Church is a congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The LCMS teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God’s Word and Baptism and Lord’s Supper.
The complete description of what we believe can be found by selecting this link : https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs/doctrine/statement-of-scriptural-and-confessional-principles
The Seven Core Values of Fountain of Life Lutheran Church
1. We preach and teach the infallible, inerrant, and inspired Word of God.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.2 Timothy 3:16, 17
2. We prepare all ages to be disciples of Christ.
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13
3. We worship together, receiving God’s gifts of grace and celebrating Christ.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24–25
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12: 28
4. We are a church of relationships joined together, through Christ, into one family of faith.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. 1 Corinthians 12: 12-14
5. We share Christ by welcoming and serving the Tucson community with our resources.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4: 10-11
6. We witness our faith in Christ by extending ministry resources nationally and globally.
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 18-20
7. We believe prayer is vital to every aspect of our ministry.
Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Do all this in prayer, asking for God’s help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God’s people. Ephesians 6: 18 (GNT)
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5: 16
No one else has influenced history as He has.
Jesus is the Son of God.
Old Testament prophets spoke of His coming and described the eternal and life-changing impact He would have.
Jesus is both God and man.
He stilled the seas and walked on water. With a touch of His hand, he cured incurable diseases. He restored life to those who had physically died.
Jesus personifies love.
He paid the ultimate price so that we could live with Him forever. He sees us through the eyes of love.
He loves us in spite of every hurtful thought, every harmful word, and every wrongful action. These are all a result of sin, which contaminates everything we do. It is behind every broken home, every empty life, every infirmity, every damaged emotion, every sorrow and grief. And as the Bible says, the end result of sin is death. But Jesus Himself was sinless; only He could pay the penalty for our sins.
Because of his love, He suffered, died, and rose again.
We are forgiven. All who believe in Jesus are guaranteed eternal life with Him in heaven.
Why did Jesus do this? Because Jesus is love.